“It wasn’t easy with him in the beginning”

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Blick: Mr. Lundgren, how are you? Where can we reach you now?
Peter Lundgren: I’m home – enjoying the Swedish sun. (laughs) I flew around the world for 35 years, now I’m back in my hometown of Sundsvall taking care of my soon to be 87 year old mother. We get along very well. And it’s nice here, not too small, not too big. Sundsvall is a bit like Bern.

You were recently in Switzerland when you visited Dominic Stricker, for whom you now work as an advisor.
Precisely. It was nice to drop by again after a long time. A lot has happened in Biel, the tennis infrastructure is impressive. And with Dominic, you have a talent that I commend.

What do you see in him?
I love him as a player. We are in touch almost daily. He has good service, a good eye and certainly potential for a top 50, maybe even a top 20. But he still has to work hard for that.

What is missing?
He just won the Challenger tournament in Prague, but was immediately eliminated in round 1. He has to be strong every week. Physically but also mentally. But he came straight from injury and he is still young, only 20, so he has a lot ahead of him. But I see good chances for him in qualifying for Roland Garros.

You are now in the role of mentor, giving advice from a distance. Does it no longer appeal to you to be on the road as a coach?
Well, I’m still a coach. But I’ve been touring for so long that I definitely don’t want to do it full-time anymore. I can imagine 12 to 14 weeks, no more. But I am still well informed, have all the channels to follow the tournaments. For example, when my former player Stan Wawrinka plays in Rome, I watch. But stop from Sweden.

Compared to the golden days of old, your homeland has become very quiet. With Mikael Ymer (ATP 52) there is only one Swede in the top 100 among the men. And with Rebecca Peterson (WTA 87) only one woman.
Yes, that is indeed sad. I went to some camps in Stockholm where the best players in the country were present. But if I put that in a direct comparison, Switzerland is much better off. Your talents are much stronger, that’s a big difference.

What happened to the once proud tennis nation around Björn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Co.?
It’s crazy: we were the best ever. I used to be number 25 in the world, but insanely only number 7 in Sweden, but a lot has changed. Sweden does not have as much to offer as Switzerland, for example, where the conditions are good with numerous domestic tournaments, so that sometimes really good players can show up.

After Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, hope in this country is mainly pinned on Belinda Bencic, who dreams of her first Grand Slam title.
She’s a great player and definitely has what it takes. She’s already leading the way – and it’s largely balanced among women. I wish her to take care of Roger Federer (2018, Australian Open, ed.) it’s next.

Among you, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title in 2003. What are you proud of when you look back on that successful collaboration?
We just had a good team together. Of course, when Peter Carter, Roger’s former coach, died suddenly, it was extremely difficult for all of us. He was a good friend to all of us and I hope in heaven he watched Roger progress. In addition to Robert Federer, Peter Carter and I naturally had a kind of father role to Roger – because he was so young and inexperienced. It wasn’t easy with him in the beginning. He had a lot of patience and showed it too often in matches. But he soon realized he had to change. He learned extremely fast and always found a way to solve problems. When he won Wimbledon for the first time in 2003, I was incredibly happy for him. It was nice to see him take that step. I enjoyed the time with him. And to this day I am reminded of it every day.

Your favorite Federer anecdote?
After he won his first ATP tournament in Milan in 2001, I pulled him aside and jokingly said, Well, now you’re only two titles behind me. Roger just smiled at that. And I knew right away: there is much more to come.

He ended his career with 103 titles.
Yes, fantastic. Absolutely insane. He didn’t just show me.

How often do you still have contact?
Well, Roger was never the best caller in the world. But I’m absolutely fine with that – I’m happy every time I see him on TV. I also recently met his parents. We talked for 20 minutes, it was a nice experience.

What goes through your mind when you see Federer walking down the red carpet at the Met Gala in New York as a world star in a tuxedo and sunglasses?
This is his world. He has grown into it and is an absolute professional in dealing with the media. It makes me proud to see how my former student has become a man.

Federer resigned last year. Rafael Nadal takes time off due to injury and misses Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic has had a lot of trouble on clay so far this year. Is this the chance for Carlos Alcaraz?
He’s a fantastic player and a very positive guy. He has a huge appetite, he always wants to get better and moves incredibly well on the pitch. Although his serve is not the best on the tour, he is a good read of the game. So yes, I think he can become very dangerous again for Djokovic and co.

Source : Blick